England currently has 317 local authorities. That number will drop to between 150-187 after the local government reorganisation (LGR) process is over. This represents a significant change and, without careful planning, settlements that are already struggling could end up being left further behind.
Take, for example, coastal towns and cities which currently have a council headquartered within their boundaries. There are 33 of them in total. Twenty-four of those are going through the LGR process and only two – Brighton & Hove and Plymouth – are guaranteed to exist post-April 2028. The remaining 22 authorities are subject to proposals, or multiple proposals, which will replace them with a bigger unitary covering a larger geographical area.
A consequence of this process is that some coastal towns and cities will lose the physical presence of their council. For example, if five councils are being replaced by one unitary, there will not be a need for five town halls and the jobs that they bring. Coastal locations are particularly at risk of this, given their peripheral locations, poorer transport links and digital connectivity and ever-increasing climate change risks like flooding.
Losing a council and its base of operations is a problem for the 22 coastal settlements. Local authorities are key employers in the area, providing year-round jobs across all skill levels. Many coastal towns struggle with lower productivity and higher levels of deprivation, meaning they will find it harder to bounce back from such a loss.
Blackpool Council, for example, provides approximately 2,803 jobs for a town with 40% of its 94 neighbourhoods in the 10% most deprived areas in England. Tendring DC, in Clacton-on-Sea, provides circa 800 jobs, in a town where 61% of its neighbourhoods are among the 30% most deprived. It also neighbours Jaywick, the most deprived location in the country. Towns like Margate, Hastings, Grimsby, Great Yarmouth and Southend-on-Sea also have vulnerable economies that face losing a major council employer. Southend-on-Sea is also set to lose 400 jobs with its university campus closing at the end of August.
The law gives shadow authorities a lot of freedom to decide whether to retain, release or repurpose assets in existing councils' estates. The size and state of the building, their proximity to residents and services and their ability to raise income will be chief considerations, but so should the economic impact on communities.
As well as the potential job losses, local businesses will be hit by lower footfall around former council offices, the end of service-lines associated with the office – cleaning, facilities management, etc – and future investments linked to public services.
It is likely that some jobs in these coastal towns will be transferred to the unitary even if it is relocated – commuting or remote working-dependent – but the shadow authority, which represents the interests of the new unitary during the transition, will need to make some big decisions with lasting consequences for the affected coastal economies.
The law gives shadow authorities a lot of freedom to decide whether to retain, release or repurpose assets in existing councils' estates. The size and state of the building, their proximity to residents and services and their ability to raise income will be chief considerations, but so should the economic impact on communities.
Even after considering the economic/social impacts of removing a council headquarters from a coastal town or city, the new shadow authority may decide it is in the best interests of the region it serves as a whole, to move it to another location.
If that situation arises, the shadow authority should work to mitigate the impacts and look for opportunities, particularly in how the surplus town hall could be repurposed or sold in a way that benefits the community.
For example, in previous reorganisations, principal town halls or civic centres of former councils have been reutilised into area or divisional offices, which has prevented a total loss of jobs or footfall.
If that is not possible, and the asset needs to be sold, it is important that the shadow authority is intentional about who the building is sold to. Whoever owns the land and assets in a place can play an important role in shaping the future for coastal communities – for good or bad. Best value consideration would be in play, but the shadow authority (or predecessor council) may exercise the economic, social or environmental wellbeing exception, if they can demonstrate this.
The viability of both commercial and residential developments is a major problem for coastal areas, meaning this option, if executed well, will provide opportunities that are not always available.
There are examples of this both in the positive and the negative. Gateshead Council used brownfield land and assets in its ownership to construct clean energy infrastructure, which supplies the town with affordable clean energy, provides employment opportunities to local people and is the foundation for the future redevelopment of the town centre.
Devolution and LGR has been mooted as a solution to turning around left-behind coastal places. It is imperative that careful thought and action is undertaken to prevent it having the opposite impact.
Christopher Kerr is head of environmental, social and governance standards at Davitt Jones Bould
